1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mouthpiece and an insertion assisting device for an endoscope. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mouthpiece and an insertion assisting device for an endoscope for assisting oral examination of the small intestines.
2. Description of Related Art
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 10-234656, a guide tube for guiding an insertion part of an endoscope into a body cavity is attached to a mouthpiece for use in the examination of a small intestine.
In the mouthpiece, the guide tube is inserted into an insertion hole formed in a mouthpiece body, and a fixing member is fitted in a cut groove connected to the insertion hole so that the guide tube can be fixed to the mouthpiece body. The Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 10-234656 also discloses an example wherein a ring-shaped fixing member is engaged with the mouthpiece body, and is tightened to the mouthpiece body so that the guide tube can be fixed to the mouthpiece body.
The conventional mouthpiece, however, is not easy to carry since the fixing member fitted in the cut groove is separate from the mouthpiece body. The fixing member engaged with the mouthpiece body is easy to carry since it is handled together with the mouthpiece body. However, it takes a long time to fix the guide tube since the fixing member has to be tightened to the mouthpiece body.
The conventional guide tube is inserted from the mouth of a subject to the small intestine. The fixing member fixes the guide tube to the mouthpiece body after the insertion length of the guide tube is adjusted. More specifically, the mouthpiece for use in the examination of the small intestine is composed of the mouthpiece body and the fixing member.
The conventional mouthpiece, however, requires various kinds of mouthpiece bodies with different sizes of parts to be held in the mouths of the subjects for different sizes of mouths. The mouthpiece body has to be machined for the purpose of fixing the guide tube. If various kinds of mouthpiece bodies are prepared, the cost is increased very much. The mouthpiece body is ordinarily bulky, and it is therefore complicated to maintain the mouthpiece if various kinds of mouthpieces are prepared.
An index indicating an insertion length of an endoscope insertion part inserted in the body cavity of the subject is formed on the endoscope insertion part. This makes it possible for an operator to recognize the insertion length of the endoscope insertion part and to specify the position of a pathological area confirmed by the endoscope.
If the conventional guide tube is used, however, the index formed on the endoscope insertion part is concealed by the guide tube, and this makes it impossible to know the insertion length of the endoscope insertion part.